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Where did the Vikings explore?

  • The Vikings were great explorers and travellers. Viking ships reached鈥Britain, France, Spain, Italy and North Africa.
  • Traders made long journeys overland through鈥疪ussia, reaching as far south as鈥Constantinople鈥痠n modern-day Turkey.
  • Some merchants traveled further east to鈥疊aghdad鈥痠n Iraq.
  • A few daring explorers made voyages to Iceland and beyond, travelling across the Atlantic Ocean to鈥North America.
  • Explorer Leif Erikson traveled to Newfoundland in modern-day Canada. Eric the Red traveled to Greenland.
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What did the Vikings trade?

The Vikings traded all over Europe and as far east as Central Asia.

They bought goods and materials such as鈥silver, silk, spices, wine, jewellery, glass and pottery.

A set of Viking scales
Image caption,
This is the kind of balance scale a Viking trader used. They put the little weights in one pan and the silver in the other.

In return, they sold items like honey, tin, wheat, wool, wood, iron, fur, leather, fish and walrus ivory.

Everywhere they went, the Vikings鈥痓ought and鈥痵old鈥痚nslaved people too.

Viking traders carried a set of鈥folding scales鈥痺hich they used to weigh coins to make sure they got a fair deal.

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How did they find their way?

A raven perched on the prow of a Viking longship helped the navigators to find new land.

The Vikings did not use maps. Vikings sailed close to the coast whenever possible, watching for鈥landmarks.

Out of sight of land, they looked for鈥the sun:鈥痺est (towards the sunset) meant they were headed for England; east (towards the sunrise) meant home to Denmark or Norway.

The Oseberg longship in the Vikingskiphuset, Oslo.
Image caption,
The Oseberg ship was found in 1904 and is now in a museum in Oslo, Norway.

The Vikings invented a kind of鈥sun-shadow board鈥痮谤 sundial to help find their way. At night they watched the skies and could use the position of the stars to determine which direction they were heading.

Seamen knew a lot about鈥winds鈥痑苍诲鈥sea currents.鈥疊y watching birds or even the colour of the water, an experienced sailor could tell when land was close.

The Oseberg longship in the Vikingskiphuset, Oslo.
Image caption,
The Oseberg ship was found in 1904 and is now in a museum in Oslo, Norway.
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How do we know about longships?

Wood rots and metal rusts away after a thousand years or more in the ground, but some remains show what Viking ships were like.

Viking longboat in the sea.
  • Two Viking ships were found by archaeologists鈥痮n farms in Norway.
  • The Gokstad ship鈥痺as dug up in 1880.鈥疶he Oseberg ship鈥痺as found in 1904.
  • Both ships were buried in Viking funerals between鈥AD800 and 900.
  • The Gokstad ship is 23 metres long, the largest Viking ship ever found. It was big enough for 32 oarsmen and had 16 oars on each side.
  • These ships are now in a museum in Oslo, Norway.

Watch: Viking ships

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Activities

Activity 1: Viking explorers

Click on each of the Vikings to find out how far they travelled and what they discovered.

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Activity 2: Quiz 鈥 Viking traders and explorers

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Bitesize Primary games. game

Play fun and educational primary games in science, maths, English, history, geography, art, computing and modern languages.

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